Milla Kramer
Milla is a gnome tinkerer/gunslinger from Ravenshire. She is an adventuring companion of Kika, Fan Brightgrass and Ridley Elderstone, due to their shared interest in what lies beyond the Barrier. Early life Milla was born an only child to her parents in Ravenshire. Naturally curious, Milla showed a natural talent for tinkering and problem solving from a young age. As Milla grew older she also developed a deep fascination with the Barrier, to her parents' concern. As an early teen, Milla would launch solo expeditions to the Barrier to investigate its nature. These would usually end with one or both of her parents sprinting to her rescue and escorting her home. Nonetheless Milla persevered, sneaking out to conduct tests on the Barrier, even after promising her family she would wait until she was an adult and could hire protection before continuing her research. Loss of parents One night, when out on one of her secret research trips, Milla's parents found her bed empty. Searching for the teenage Milla near the Barrier, they were attacked by a metal sphere. Both were hit by the sphere's fire ray, leaving only their clothing, belongings, and traces of ash. After a period of grieving, Milla's resolve was only strengthened by the loss of her parents. She dropped out of school and immersed herself in her research, doing the minimum amount of work possible to keep her parents' roof over her head and food on her table. Milla became somewhat of a shut-in, living a life of near solitude. She developed a reputation around Ravenshire for being a bit "kooky." When sadness crept near, she distracted herself from her loneliness by creating overly complex machines and reading science fiction novels, her favorites being the Steampunk Slug: the Slimy Scientist series. Despite all her work, Milla did not make much progress on her goal... until she put out a flyer seeking help. Meeting Kika and Fan Milla's flyer was picked up by Kika, who shared her curiosity around the Barrier. Kika and Fan Brightgrass then defeated a metal sphere and brought it to Milla, to her astonishment. Still hardly working, Milla was unable to offer Kika the reward promised by the flyer, and it seemed that Kika would take the sphere for herself until Milla made a heartfelt plea. Kika handed over the sphere, but it wasn't long before Bartholomew entered Milla's home with several guards, and demanded the sphere be transferred to him. Kika fled with the sphere, and Milla made a snap decision to join the two adventurers: if it meant she would get to examine the object and find out what lies beyond the Barrier, it was worth any price. Milla left her home with 40 gold and next to no belongings, and traveled with Kika and Fan while examining the metal sphere. Death and resurrection Milla remains convinced that the origin of the sphere and the reason her parents perished lies beyond the Barrier, and will stop at nothing to uncover it.